CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The number of Philippine Identification (PhilID) cards distributed in Northern Mindanao remains low, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Region 10 showed.
As of July 31, 202,842 PhilID cards have been distributed in the region, said Jose Tuason Jr., Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) focal person of PSA-10, Thursday, August 11.
The figure is very low as 3,506,497 individuals – 70 percent out of the total population – are registered to PhilSys as of August 8. Northern Mindanao region has a total population of 5,022,768.
Tuason said that the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost), the PSA's official courier partner, has received 205,831 PhilID cards for Region 10 and only 202,842 have been distributed.
Nine-hundred forty-eight PhilID cards have been returned to sender and being turned over to the provincial offices of PSA-10 where their owners could later on get them.
Tuason said PhilID would be returned to the sender if the owner is not in their residence after the three delivery attempts. He said the courier would call the recipient prior to the home delivery.
Many citizens have been questioning the delay of the distribution of PhilID cards as they expect to receive them six months from the date of registration.
Tuason explained that the national government is prioritizing the low-income household as the PhilID is essential to the fast distribution of assistance from the government.
The PhilSys focal person appealed to the residents of Northern Mindanao to be more patient with the delays in the delivery of PhilID cards. The PSA-10, he said, has been coordinating with the PHLPost for the distribution.
“Kung wala pa sila ka-receive sa physical ID card, dili mabalaka kay naa raman ilang data didto sa BSP naka-pending for printing. So wala pa nadeliver kay wala pa na-forward sa PHLPost,” Tuason said.
(If they (residents) still have not received their physical ID cards, they have nothing to worry because their data are in the BSP (Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas) still pending and for printing. (The cards) have not yet been delivered because the cards have not yet been forwarded to PHLPost)
The BSP, Tuason said, is the assigned office for the printing of the PhilID cards.
The PSA-10 is planning to conduct a “plaza-type” distribution – where there would be a venue set for the distribution – in collaboration with the PHLPost for the easy and fast delivery of the PhilID cards.
After the first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last month, Tuason said the PSA Central Office held a meeting and came up with a target to distribute 50 million PhilIDs by the end of this year.
This involved the additional formats of PhilIDs introduced by PSA, which is part of the government's proactive strategy to push for financial inclusivity, through the implementation of PhilSys.
Of the 50-million target, the PSA is targeting to distribute 30 million physical PhilID cards and the remaining would be the 20 million digital PhilIDs with the printable version and mobile format which can also be validated through the PhilSys check.
The pilot testing of these additional formats started last August 1, Tuason said, and it will last until the end of the month. The rollout will start in September.
The PSA will release guidelines on how to get these additional formats. As of the moment, there is no schedule yet for the distribution of the new PhilID formats.
“Dili angay mabalaka atong katawhan kung didto sila ma-mabelong sa digitals IDs kay padayon gihapon man ang pag-print sa physical IDs, ma-receive ra gihapon na nila puhon,” Tuason said.
(People should not be worried if they would belong to the digital IDs because the printing of physical IDs is ongoing and they will receive that soon).